Abstract: Degradable hollow shell particles are disclosed that can encapsulate cells within the hollow inner cavity that allows for the high-throughput screening and sorting of the encapsulated cells based on their phenotypic properties. The solid-phase of the particle is porous such that solution exchange can occur between the external environment and the interior cavity. Further, the solid-phase contains degradable crosslinkers and can be degraded to release enclosed biological entities. An example embodiment consists of encapsulating a cell within the hollow shell particle, allowing the cell to accumulate biomass, selecting hollow shell particles based on accumulated biomass, and degrading the hollow shell particles to release the cells and develop hyper-producing cell lines. Exemplary cell types include microalgae, mammalian cells, bacteria, yeast, and fungi.

Abstract: Degradable hollow shell particles are disclosed that can encapsulate cells within the hollow inner cavity that allows for the high-throughput screening and sorting of the encapsulated cells based on their phenotypic properties. The solid-phase of the particle is porous such that solution exchange can occur between the external environment and the interior cavity. Further, the solid-phase contains degradable crosslinkers and can be degraded to release enclosed biological entities. An example embodiment consists of encapsulating a cell within the hollow shell particle, allowing the cell to accumulate biomass, selecting hollow shell particles based on accumulated biomass, and degrading the hollow shell particles to release the cells and develop hyper-producing cell lines. Exemplary cell types include microalgae, mammalian cells, bacteria, yeast, and fungi.